Warband Design
UNDER CONSTRUCTION Please contribute to the Wiki and add your own designs to this page. While Heroes can take on a proven Archetype to insure a smooth development, Warband Designs have been tested and explored, and some are simply superior to others. What is the proper ratio of Shooters and Melee Fighters? Does this change depending on the Faction? When and how should you hire an Henchmen or Hired Sword? How pet Creatures are best used? This article will try to explain how a good Warband is designed, what are the reknowned Designs, and development strategies for a Warband. Design Tips # From my experience, you're better focusing on an all-ranged or all-melee Warband, than mixing both. Combining range and melee is a bit of a nonbo, as melee units will turn off your Snipers the moment they do their job (i.e. attack in melee). Also, opponent may well get absolute protection from your Snipers by just sending all its units in close combat versus your melee fighters. If you want to mix range and melee, don't do so in equal weighting (4-4). Either have less melee fighters (2-3) so they don't hinder too much the Snipers (5-6), or less Snipers (2-3) so more units are effective and useful when your fighters (5-6) get into melee. # A unit with 3 Wounds will be put Out of Action with 4 damage. So avoid hiring fragile Henchmen or Hired Swords. To me, that's any Henchmen with less than 5 Wounds. It takes 5 damages to Stun these units, but it will take 2 more damages to put it Out of Action. The more ressources opponents dedicate to that goal, the less they have to attack your other units (i.e. it's not just that W 3 units get injured or killed faster, but they'll also get your other units injured or killed more often). This strategy seams simple, but you may have to wait a long time to find a suitable recruit with acceptable Stats, and the levels spread between the recruit and the rest of the Warband may be hard to manage. # I find that pet Creatures, like Wardogs and Giant Rats, are more useful in the early-mid game, than the mid-high levels Missions. Pets don't scale up while opposition is leveling up, and this makes them increasingly worse as time goes by. Also, an injured Pet will be killed instead, and the replacement costs will quickly add up to that Tome of Magic or amazing Rifle you don't have enough gold to buy. They are, however, an easy way to overwhelm opposition in the early levels, and to increase your precious units longevity in the first 2-10 levels. Uncommon Builds * Halfling Cooking Party: Hire 4 Halfling Scouts (and their pet Burglars) and watch them rebel and take over the Warband as they fire everyone, including the Leader! * Magic Council: Mercenary Captain specializing in Arcane Lore and four Warlocks (sometimes supported by 1-2 Snipers). * Undead Coven: Vampire specializing in Necromantic Magic, one Necromancer, and three Warlocks. Sometimes a henchman or two are kept as snacks for the necromancers and meat shields for everyone else. Common Builds * Tactical Mercs: 2 Recons + 4 Snipers + 2 Tanks. Let the Recons call the targets for the Snipers who'll do the killing, while the Tanks soak up some damage and protect your rears. * Sneaky Skaven: 6-7 Hidden Throwers + 1-2 Eshin Sorcerers (or 1 + magically trained Assassin). This Warband avoids pet Creatures and Packmasters, because they take up too much of the available shadows and prevent ranged attacks on enemies they engaged in melee with. * Ranged Squad: 8 Snipers with Elven Bow (and eventually Hochland Long Rifle & Sight), one of them also trained in Magic for some reconnaissance with Flight of Zimmerman. You can't win in melee, but you won't let opponent get that far, right? * Solo: Can't say that Soloing in Mordheim is proven (unless Vampire, and even then), but it's challenging and supposedly fun. My answer to all these solo players... Challenge accepted but the fun is for me, because I've never lost in PVP against a Solo Leader. Development Strategies # Leaders often make excellent Recon units (see Archetypes). I would train my Leader to fit that role (except if I play Undead), with no distractions. # First 1-2 Henchmen should be trained as Snipers (see Archetypes). Range will increase their longevity, and their ranged attacks are the best complement to a Recon. # After that, a Tank (see Archetypes) that soaks up damage and divert opponents from your Snipers is a great addition. # You're then ready to hire your first Hired Swords. Save up on gold crowns and completely stop improving your Recon, Snipers and Tank's Equipment, or buy your Hired Swords with Fate tokens if you feel like rewarding the game developers (with the additional benefit of having a Warband that doesn't sport units with a very wide levels spread). Don't even bother with Henchmen at this point, unless you want to clone a specific Archetype 5-8 times.